Atlanta Brewery Tours and Great Grub

New Georgia beer laws go into effect on September 1— a huge shift for both the breweries and visitors. Senate Bill 85 allows breweries to sell their beer, eliminating the mandatory tour purchase to drink on site. The bill states, “to provide for the limited sale of malt beverages at retail by manufacturers of malt beverages.” Guests can buy up to a case to take home and may purchase and have a beer in the brewery. This change in the brewery experience calls for good grub to go with your brews – along with an uber or Lyft driver.

Before sipping on Wild Heaven Beer’s Emergency Drinking Beer, Wise Blood IPA, or White Blackbird Belgian Saison, check out Rising Son just a few blocks away. Breakfast is served all day with standouts like crispy trout on creamy cheese grits topped with two eggs and the CBCB, a fried chicken biscuit topped with local Pine Street bacon and cheddar. There’s always the meat and 1,2 or 3 tray with rotating local veggies or the double stack cheeseburger with hand cut fries. Wildheaven: 135 Maple St. Decatur. 404-997-8589. wildheavenbeer.com.

Some have taken the Sweet Water Brewing Company tour many times just to sample their 420 Extra Pale Ale, Hop Hash and their Hatchery Series Mosaic Ale. While the tours are pretty cool, you can now just have a few pints in the brewery and the new The Woodlands, sour and wild facility. Right down the street is Fox Bros Bar-B Que “Que Osk” ready with pulled pork, brisket, smoked chicken and Southern sides. On Saturday afternoons, nearby American Spirit Whiskey serves chef Kevin Gillespie’s Terminus Barbecue when the kiosk is closed. Sweet Water: 195 Ottley Dr. Atlanta. 404-691-2537. Sweetwater.com.

You can take a walk through Piedmont Park to get to Orpheus Brewing for their pours of their Atlanta tart plum saison or their farmhouse style Lyric ale. Before the beer, stop at Sean’s Harvest Garden for a giant veggie-filled Beltline Burrito or their Holy Grail chicken salad sandwich. A special Amber biscuit or giant chocolate chip cookie are great walking snacks. Orpheus: 1440 Dutch Valley Pl. NE. Piedmont Park. 404-347-1777. Orpheusbrewing.com.

Monday Night Brewing is doubly excited about the new laws with their forthcoming warehouse expansion along The Beltline. For now you can drink a Nerd Alert, Drafty Kilt or Fu Manbrew inside the brewery or on their tree lined patio at their Westside location. Before or after, Taqueria del Sol is close by for tacos, guac and cheese dip. We really dig the chicken enchiladas in lemon cream sauce. Monday Night: 670 Trabert Ave. NW. Westside. 404-352-7703. Mondaybightbrewing.com.

Your Uber driver need only make one stop to eat before trying Three Taverns Craft Brewing’s A Night on Ponce IPA or Prince of Pilsner. FIGO Pasta is just up the street, where you can choose your house-made-daily pasta and the sauce to top it. Ravioli di Cipolla filled with caramelized onions and mascarpone is smashing with its balsamic glaze and you can’t go wrong with a prosciutto and mozzarella panini. 121 New St. Decatur. 404-600-3355. Threetaversbrewery.com.

Although you don’t have to take the tour at Scofflaw Brewing Company, it’s one of the most educational in town for science nerds—from the citra hops in the Basement IPA to how the Westside gets its caramel malt backbone. Before or after your chemistry lesson or pints in the vast space, head to Nuevo Laredo Cantina for a taste of homestyle Mexico with chili rellenos, steak diablo, and chicken molé. Scofflaw: 1738 Macarthur Blvd, NW. Westside. Scofflawbeer.com.